Handheld electronic device

ABSTRACT

PDAs can be used to provide their users with a variety of functions. One function provided by PDAs is enabling their users to contact particular users of other devices who are stored as contacts, for example by a telephone call or text message. The present invention provides a PDA in which contacts that the user of the PDA may be more likely to want to contact at any given time can be determined and displayed. Whether or not a user may be likely to want to contact a user at any given time may be based on the status of the user of the PDA, and optionally also the status of the other user&#39;s PDA. For example, if the user of the PDA is listening to a particular genre of music, then they may want to contact other contacts who a also listening to that particular genre of music. Similarly, if the user is at their place of work, then they may want to contact a specific list of contacts related to work. In this way, the user of the PDA can be provided with a list of relevant contacts.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromUnited Kingdom patent application number GB 0902025.6 filed 6 Feb. 2009,the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a personal digital assistant (PDA), inparticular to a PDA for interacting with personal contacts. The presentinvention also relates to a method of interacting with personal contactsusing a PDA.

2. Description of the Related Art

PDAs currently enable their users to perform various functions. Forexample, PDAs can be used to organise events (for example by providingan electronic diary); connect to the interne; listen to music; takeand/or view photographs; watch videos; provide directions (for examplethrough GPS) and produce and edit documents. PDAs can also be used tostore contact details, such as postal addresses, e-mail addresses, andtelephone numbers. As such, the PDAs can contain an electronic addressbook. Typically, PDAs can be used to view and select contacts tointeract with, and can allow the user of the PDA to interact with theselected contact, for example by telephone or e-mail.

The present invention recognises that contacts in an address book of aPDA are presently arranged in an arbitrary order. For example, they maybe arranged in alphabetical order. However, the user of the PDA is notprovided with any additional information about the current status oftheir contacts.

The invention is described herein in relation to a PDA. However, theinvention may comprise, and/or be used with or applied to any electronicdevice. In particular, the invention may comprise, and/or be used withor applied to, any mobile and/or handheld device, such as, for example,a smartphone, a netbook or a laptop computer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided handheldelectronic device for use in a network to which other electronic devicesare connected, the handheld electronic device comprising:

-   -   a screen configured to display information to a user of the        handheld electronic device, wherein the handheld electronic        device is configured to be able to:    -   determine, based on the status of the handheld electronic        device, users of other electronic devices connected to the        network who the user of the handheld electronic device may be        interested in contacting; and    -   display information relating to at least one of the determined        users of other electronic devices on the screen.

Such a handheld electronic device enables the user of the device to bepresented with information, for example contact information, aboutparticular users (for example particular users who are stored ascontacts of the user on the handheld electronic device) with whom theymay want to make contact at a given time. Determining the specificcontacts on the basis of the status of the handheld electronic devicemeans that the user can be presented with particularly relevantcontacts. This can save time by the user not having to search throughall of the contacts and/or not wasting time contacting users who theywould not want to contact at a given time.

According to an aspect of the invention, the handheld electronic devicemay further comprise a receiving unit configured to receive statusinformation relating to the users of other electronic devices. Providinga receiving unit enables the handheld electronic device to receivestatus information about other devices. This status information can beused to help to determine whether or not the user of the handheldelectronic device may be interested in contacting the user of the otherdevice.

According to an aspect of the invention, the handheld electronic devicemay be configured to receive the status information relating to theusers of other electronic devices from a server. This enables theinformation to be received efficiently, from a central source.

According to an aspect of the invention, the handheld electronic devicemay be configured to obtain the status information from the server asXML data forming an RSS feed. This is a particularly efficient way forthe handheld electronic device to receive the status information aboutthe other devices.

According to an aspect of the invention, the users of other electronicdevices may be determined based on a status of their electronic devicematching a status of the handheld electronic device. In this way, theuser of the handheld electronic device can be presented with informationregarding other contacts whose electronic device has at least one statusin common with the handheld electronic device, and thus may be desirableto contact.

According to an aspect of the invention, the status of the handheldelectronic device, on which status said determination is based, mayrelate to at least one of:

-   -   (i) the function that the handheld electronic device is        performing;    -   (ii) the location of the handheld electronic device; and    -   (iii) the power status of the handheld electronic device.

Any one of these three items of status information may be particularlyuseful in deciding whether the user of the handheld electronic devicemay be particularly interested in contacting the other user.

According to an aspect of the invention, the function may include atleast one of:

-   -   displaying videos;    -   displaying photographs;    -   taking photographs;    -   playing music;    -   sending emails;    -   accessing the internet;    -   playing games; and    -   acting as a telephone.

At least one of these functions would typically be available on anelectronic device such as a PDA. However, the list is not exhaustive,and can be extended to include any other function that may be availableto the user of an electronic device such as a PDA.

According to an aspect of the invention, the information relating to thedetermined users that is displayed on the screen may comprise at leastone of:

-   -   (i) contact information for the determined users; and    -   (ii) status information relating to the determined user.

If status information is displayed, then the user of the handheldelectronic device may use the status information to make a finaldecision as to whether or not to contact the other user. If contactinformation is displayed, then the user is provided with astraightforward way of contacting the other user, should they wish to doso.

According to an aspect of the invention, the status information relatingto the determined users may comprise at least one of:

-   -   (i) what function the electronic device of the determined user        is performing;    -   (ii) the power status of the electronic device of the determined        user; and    -   (iii) the location of the electronic device of the determined        user.

Any one or more of these pieces of status information may be useful tothe user of the handheld electronic device in deciding whether or not tocontact the other user. For example, they may wish to contact the otheruser if they are performing the same function and/or are in a similar orrelated location. Furthermore, they may decide not to contact the otheruser if the other user's device is turned off.

According to an aspect of the invention, the function of the otheruser's device may include at least one of:

-   -   displaying videos;    -   displaying photographs;    -   taking photographs;    -   playing music;    -   sending emails;    -   accessing the internet;    -   playing games; and    -   acting as a telephone.

At least one of these function would typically be available on anelectronic device such as a PDA. However, the list is not exhaustive,and can be extended to include any other function that may be availableto the user of an electronic device such as a PDA. It may beparticularly useful to the user of the handheld electronic device toknow if the user of another electronic device is performing one of theabove functions, for example in determining whether they want to contactthem. For example, if the other user is playing a game, then they maywish to join in that game, for example over the internet.

The handheld electronic device may comprise hardware and/or softwareconfigured to determine the status of the handheld electronic device.

If hardware is used, then the handheld electronic device can recogniseits own status directly, without necessarily requiring software. Forexample, the handheld electronic device could recognise that it is beingused to listen to music when headphones are plugged into it.

If software is used, then the software can be tailored to the particularfunctions of the handheld electronic device and/or updated as required.

According to an aspect of the invention, the handheld electronic devicemay further comprise a transmitting unit configured to transmit statusinformation about the handheld electronic device. In this way, thestatus information of the handheld electronic device may be madeavailable to the user of other electronic devices. This statusinformation could then be used by the other electronic devices in orderto assist their users in deciding whether or not to contact the user ofthe handheld electronic device.

According to an aspect of the invention, the handheld electronic devicemay be configured to transmit status information about itself to aserver. Transmitting the information to a server is an efficient way ofmaking the information available to a large number of other electronicdevices.

According to an aspect of the invention, the handheld electronic devicemay be configured to transmit status information about itself as XMLdata forming an RSS feed. Transmitting information in this way is aparticularly efficient way of transmitting the information.

According to an aspect of the invention, the handheld electronic devicemay be further configured to re-determine the users of other electronicdevices who the user of the handheld electronic device may be interestedin contacting when the status of the handheld electronic device changes.In this way, the list of users of other electronic devices who it may bedesirable to contact can be kept up to date, and thus always be usefulto the user of the handheld electronic device.

According to an aspect of the invention, the handheld electronic devicemay be further configured to be able to display the location of thedetermined users on a map. By displaying the location of the determinedusers on a map, the user of the handheld electronic device is providedwith further information that may help them to decide whether or notcontact the other user, and if so, the best way of meeting up with theother user.

Also according to the present invention, there is provided a method ofdetermining specific contacts for display on the screen of a handheldelectronic device comprising:

-   -   receiving status information relating to another electronic        device;    -   comparing the received status information with the status of the        handheld electronic device; and    -   determining, based on the comparison, whether the user of the        handheld electronic device may be interested in contacting the        user of the other electronic device.

This method enables the users of other electronic devices with whom theuser of the handheld electronic device may want to make contact to bedetermined. This can make the user's decision regarding who to contactmore efficient.

According to an aspect of the invention, the method may comprisereceiving status information relating to a plurality of other electronicdevices, and performing the comparing and determining steps for each ofthe plurality of electronic devices.

Using this method, the status of a plurality of other devices can beused to help to determine whether or not those other devices should bepresented to the user of the handheld device as possible users with whomthey may wish to make contact.

The method may further comprise displaying information relating to usersof other electronic devices who it is determined that the user of thehandheld electronic device may be interested in contacting.

This method enables the user of a handheld electronic device to bepresented with the information about other users (or contacts) with whomthey may wish to make contact.

Each of the method steps performed above may be performed by thehandheld electronic device. This means that no hardware or softwareother than the handheld electronic device is required to perform themethod steps and provide the associated advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a PDA according to an embodiment of thepresent invention on which a specific contacts screen is beingdisplayed;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a PDA according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 shows a front view of a PDA according to an embodiment of thepresent invention on which a contacts screen is being displayed;

FIG. 4 shows a front view of a PDA according to an embodiment of thepresent invention on which a map showing the location of contacts isbeing displayed;

FIG. 5 shows a side view of a PDA according to an embodiment of thepresent invention showing tilting of the PDA in order to access a mapscreen; and

FIG. 6 shows a front view of a PDA according to an embodiment of thepresent invention on which a home page is being displayed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdescription, given by way of example only, with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a PDA 100 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a display screen 10 isprovided on the PDA 100. This display screen 10 is divided into two mainareas. A first area 20 shows the currently selected function (thesefunctions will be described herein). The second area, shown in the FIG.1 embodiment as being towards a lower portion of the screen, containsvarious other selectable functions, shown in boxes 30, 40, 50, 60 and70. Once selected, the selectable functions in boxes 30, 40, 50, 60 and70 are displayed in the first area (which may also be referred to as themain window) 20.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the PDA 100 shown in FIG. 1. As can be seenin FIG. 2, various input and/or output ports and/or sockets may beprovided on a side of the PDA 100. Such ports/sockets could include, forexample, a headphone socket 200, a USB port 210, and a power socket 220.Other typical input and/or output ports and/or sockets may also beprovided on a PDA. Furthermore, in some embodiments, one, more than one,or all of the sockets and/or ports may be provided on the front, rear,top or bottom of the PDA rather than, or in addition to, on the side.

The PDA 100 may comprise a controller, which may comprise a processor,and/or a storage device and/or RAM. The controller may be used tocontrol the various functions of the PDA 100 described below.

Referring back to FIG. 1, as explained above, the PDA 100 may beconfigured to display a variety of different operation modes in the mainwindow 20 by selecting the appropriate function 30-70 in the lower halfof the PDA screen 10. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the operationmodes include: “contacts” (accessed by selecting area 30); “specificcontacts” (accessed by selecting area 40); “map” (accessed by selectingarea 50); “home page” (accessed by selecting area 60); and “updates”(accessed by selecting area 70). Various other operation modes may alsobe available for selection.

In FIG. 1, the main window 20 is depicted displaying specific contacts.This can be seen by the specific contacts area 40 being highlighted.When the specific contacts screen is being displayed, various contacts201-205 of the user of PDA 100 are shown in the main window 20. However,as will be described in detail below, not all of the contacts availableto the user of the PDA 100 may necessarily be accessible via thespecific contacts screen. The contacts that are displayed in thespecific contacts screen may be tailored to the needs of the user at agiven time.

Each contact 201-205 may be displayed as an avatar. In FIG. 1, eachavatar 201-205 is shown as being identical. However, in someembodiments, each avatar could be specific to the contact. For example,each avatar could be a drawing of the contact. Alternatively, any othersuitable image may be displayed for the specific contacts, such as aphotograph of them. For example, the name of the contact could be usedinstead of, or in addition to, an avatar. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 1, the specific contacts are shown with both names and avatars.

In addition to showing the specific contact (as, for example, an avatar201-205), the specific contact screen may also show the status of eachspecific contact. For example, the specific contact main window 20 mayshow details of what activity is being performed by the PDA of eachspecific contact. For example, in the specific contact main window 20shown in FIG. 1, the avatar 201 is shown with a musical note next to it,indicating that Alan is listening to music. Similarly, avatars 202, 203and 204 are shown with a video tape, a “zzz” symbol, and a telephonesymbol next to them respectively. This indicates that Lynn is using herPDA to watch a video clip, Michael's PDA is currently in sleep mode, andSusan is using her PDA to make a telephone call.

Alternatively or additionally, the status of the specific contacts couldindicate the geographical location of those contacts. For example,Gill's avatar 205 is shown with an office block next to it, indicatingthat Gill is at her work location. In some embodiments, more than onestatus icon may be shown next to a given avatar. For example, a contactmay be both at work and listening to music, and thus have an “at work”and a “listening to music” icon next to their avatar. However, in otherembodiments, only one status icon may be shown such that, for example,if a contact is both at work and listening to music, only the “listeningto music” icon is shown. Indeed, as explained below, in FIG. 1, all ofthe contacts may be at their place of work, even though only one of them(Gill) is shown having an “at work” icon.

A particular contact in the specific contacts window can be highlightedfor selection by scrolling through the various avatars. This scrollingcan be achieved by tilting the PDA 100 about the z axis (as describedbelow in relation to the main window 20 displaying the contacts screenshown in FIG. 3). Alternatively, the scrolling can be achieved by theuser scrolling across a touch-sensitive input device (such as atouchpad, not shown) using their finger or an input stylus.Alternatively still, the scrolling could be achieved by the userscrolling across the main window 20 itself using their finger or aninput stylus, for example in the area shown by arrow 206 in screen 20.Alternatively still, the scrolling could be achieved using buttons (alsonot shown) provided on the PDA 100.

When a particular contact is highlighted for selection, its appearancemay change. This enables the user of the PDA 100 to readily identifywhich contact is highlighted for selection. For example, in theembodiment shown in FIG. 1, the contact 203 (Michael) is shown largerthan the other contacts on the screen, indicating that this contact ishighlighted for selection.

The choice of which contacts are displayed in the specific contacts mainwindow 20 may be tailored to the needs of the user of the PDA 100. Thistailoring process will be described in detail in a subsequent part ofthe description.

As explained above, if the specific contacts function of the PDA 100 isselected, then the main window 20 of the PDA 100 may appear as shown inFIG. 1. If, on the other hand, the contacts function of the PDA 100 isselected, then the screen 10 of the PDA 100 may appear as shown in FIG.3. As shown in FIG. 3, when the contacts function of the PDA 100 isselected, all of the contacts available to the user of the PDA 100 areaccessible via the main window 20. The contacts may be arranged in anappropriate order. For example, the contacts may be arranged inalphabetical order, as shown in FIG. 3.

A particular contact may be highlighted for selection by scrollingthrough the contacts in a particular manner, as with the specificcontacts screen. For example, it may be possible to scroll through thecontacts using a touch-sensitive input device (such as a touchpad). Thetouch-sensitive input device may be provided separately on the PDA 100,or may be incorporated into the main window 20. For example, thetouch-sensitive input device could be a touchpad provided in the areashown by arrow 206 in FIG. 3.

Alternatively or additionally, it may be possible to scroll through thecontacts shown in FIG. 3 by tilting the PDA 100. For example, it may bepossible to scroll through the contacts by tilting the PDA 100 about thez axis, i.e. the axis perpendicular to the page of FIG. 3. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 3, the z axis (i.e. the axis about which thePDA 100 may be rotated in order to scroll through the contacts) is shownas being perpendicular to the display screen 10. Rotating the PDA 100anticlockwise (i.e. about an axis pointing out of the page shown in FIG.3, in the direction that the PDA 100 has been rotated from FIG. 1 toFIG. 3) may cause the contacts to rotate in one direction (e.g. fromleft to right), whereas rotating the PDA 100 in a clockwise direction(i.e. about an axis pointing into the page shown in FIG. 3) may causethe contacts to scroll in a different, or opposite, direction (e.g. fromright to left). The specific contacts shown in the main window of FIG. 1may also be scrolled through by tilting the PDA 100 in the mannerdescribed above.

The PDA 100 may be provided with a suitable tilt sensor in order toeffect scrolling through the contacts when the PDA 100 is tilted orrotated, for example about an axis perpendicular to the display screen10. For example, a gyroscopic sensor may be used as a tilt sensor.Furthermore, the tilt sensor may be configured to determine the anglethrough which the PDA 100 has been rotated about the z axis (i.e. theangle from the neutral position, the neutral position being, forexample, the position in which the side surfaces of the PDA 100 shown inFIG. 3 lie either in a vertical or a horizontal plane).

This angle may then be used to determine the speed through which thecontacts are scrolled. In some embodiments, the speed through which thecontacts are scrolled may be associated with the rate of rotation of thePDA 100. This rate of rotation of the PDA 100 may be determined by atilt sensor, such as a gyroscopic tilt sensor.

The PDA 100 may comprise a controller to process how the contacts arescrolled through by tilting the PDA 100. For example, the controller mayconvert the output of the tilt sensor to a rate of scrolling through thecontacts.

As described above in relation to the specific contacts shown in FIG. 1,each contact in the contacts screen shown in FIG. 3 may be depicted byan avatar, a name, or both. Furthermore, the status of each contact mayalso be displayed in the main window 20 showing the contacts in asuitable manner. The status of the contacts may be displayed in themanner described above in relation to the specific contacts shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows the screen 10 of the PDA 100 when the map contacts functionof the PDA 100 has been selected in an appropriate manner. As shown inFIG. 4, when the map contacts option of the PDA 100 has been selected, amap is displayed in the main window 20 showing the location on a map ofone or more of the contacts. In the example shown in FIG. 4, thelocation of contact “Alan” is shown as being on the junction between“Norwich Road” and “Longstanton Flyover”. This is indicated by theposition of Alan's avatar on the map.

The location of other contacts who are not on the same map may beaccessible by showing the contact (for example an avatar representingthe contact) at a position on the map which is in the direction of theirlocation. The contact can then be selected (for example by using atouch-sensitive input device, such as a touchpad) and the map may thenscroll to the position of that contact.

In some embodiments it may be possible to scroll through the contactsavailable in the mapping mode in the same manner as described above inrelation to the contacts screen.

The map contacts option may be accessed when, for example, either thecontacts (as shown in FIG. 3) or the specific contacts (as shown inFIG. 1) screens are displayed in the main window 20. When the mapcontacts option is selected, the contact that is shown on the map may bethe contact that was previously highlighted for selection in the mannerexplained above on either the specific contacts or the contacts mainwindow. Typically, however, the map contacts option would be accessedwhen the specific contacts screen is being displayed. In this way, thecontact that is shown on the map would be the highlighted specificcontact. Furthermore, the contacts that are shown around the edge of themap (and which can thus be selected for viewing on the map) would besome or all of the remainder of the specific contacts.

The map contacts option may be accessed in any suitable manner. Forexample, the map contacts option could be selected by selecting the mapcontacts input area 50 of the screen 10. This could be done, forexample, by using a touch-sensitive input device, which may or may notcomprise the map contacts input area 50 itself.

In an embodiment of the invention, the map contacts option may beselected by tilting, or rotating, the PDA 100. For example, the mapcontacts option may be selected by tilting the PDA 100 about the x axisshown in FIG. 1. Thus, referring now to FIG. 5, in order to access themap contacts mode, the PDA 100 could be tilted from the substantiallyvertical position indicated as A, to the substantially horizontalposition indicated as B (in position B, the PDA 100 is depicted withdashed lines, whereas in position A, the PDA 100 is depicted with solidlines). Thus, the specific contacts screen could occupy the main window20 when the PDA 100 is in the substantially vertical position A, andwhen the PDA is then rotated about the x axis (i.e. an axis runningsubstantially longitudinally through the PDA 100) to the position Bshown in FIG. 5, the map contacts option would be shown in the mainwindow 20. As described above, the contact shown on the map in the mainwindow 20 would typically be the contact that was previously highlightedfor selection in the specific contacts option in the main window 20.

The map contacts option may be accessed by rotating the PDA 100 throughany suitable angle. Typically, the rotation would be about the x-axisshown in the figures (i.e. a horizontal axis, and/or an axis parallel tothe plane of the longitudinal screen 10 of the PDA 100). However, anysuitable axis for rotation could be chosen.

It is not necessary in some embodiments to rotate the PDA 100 from asubstantially vertical position shown as A in FIG. 5 in order to accessthe map. Furthermore, in some embodiments it is not necessary to rotatethe PDA 100 to the substantially horizontal position indicated as B inFIG. 5 in order to access the map. Thus, if the angle between thehorizontal and the plane of the PDA 100 (e.g. the plane defined by thescreen 10 of the PDA 100) is defined as θ, then the value of θ₁ at whichthe map contacts mode is activated (i.e. the angle below which the PDA100 enters the map contacts mode), could be any suitable angle. Forexample, θ₁ could be between: from 0° to 80°; from 10° to 70°; from 20°to 60°; or from 30° to 50°. The angle θ₁ at which the map contactsoption is activated could be 40°, or 45°.

In other embodiments, the map contacts screen may be accessed when thePDA 100 is rotated from a substantially horizontal position to asubstantially vertical position.

The PDA 100 may comprise a controller which may be used to control anyof the functions described herein relating to the map contacts option.For example, a controller may be used to, for example, convert an outputfrom the tilt sensor to an instruction to display the maps contactsscreen.

As explained above, once the map contacts mode, or option, has beenactivated, the user of the PDA 100 is presented with informationindicating the location of one or more contacts on a map. Thisinformation can then be used by the user of the PDA 100 in makingparticular decisions. For example, the location of a particular contactmay affect whether or not the user of the PDA 100 wants to get intocontact with, or send information to, the particular contact shown onthe map. Having a map function that is accessible simply by tilting, orrotating the PDA 100 means that the map function can be readily accessedby the user of the PDA 100 as required.

As stated herein, a PDA 100 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention may comprise a range of functionality. For example, the PDA100 may comprise at least all of the functions known in typical PDAsavailable in the prior art. Thus, the PDA 100 may enable its user toperform any one or more of the following functions: viewing of videoclips; viewing of photos; listening to music; accessing the interne;sending e-mails; acting as an electronic diary; performing GPS functions(such as providing the current location of the PDA 100); makingtelephone calls; sending text messages; playing games; and creating andstoring spreadsheets and/or other documents.

The various functions that the PDA 100 can perform may be displayed on,and accessible via, a homepage 600 as shown in FIG. 6. The homepage 600may be accessible from any other screen being displayed on display 10 ofthe PDA 100 by, for example, selecting the area 60 of the screen 10relating to the homepage. This area 60 which provides access to thehomepage 600 can be selected by a suitable means. For example, the area60 could be selected by using a touch-sensitive input device, such as atouchpad. Once the homepage 600 has been accessed, the various functionsof the PDA can be selected (for example using a touch-sensitive inputdevice, such as a touchpad) for use by the user.

It will be understood that it is not necessary for a PDA 100 accordingto an embodiment of the present invention to use the precise menustructure and layout described herein in relation to the figures. Forexample, in some embodiments the menu structure may be at leastpartially layered. This may mean, for example, that a homepage (whichmay or may not be similar to that described in relation to FIG. 6) maybe at the top of a hierarchal menu structure, and the various otherscreens (such as the contacts screen, the specific contacts screen, andthe map contacts screen) may be arranged in at least one lower level ofthe hierarchal menu structure.

An explanation will now be provided of how the particular contacts maybe selected, determined, or chosen for display on the specific contactsscreen shown in the main window 20 of FIG. 1.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the PDA 100 may beconfigured to transmit, or transfer, status information about itself(for example using a transmitter which may comprise an antenna). Thisstatus information may be received by other devices. For example, thestatus details of the PDA 100 may be transmitted to, or transferred to,other electronic devices, for example other PDAs of the same or asimilar type to PDA 100. Thus, it may be possible for other electronicdevices (such as other PDAs 100) to receive certain status informationfrom the PDA 100, and thus to know about its status.

Similarly, according to an aspect of the invention, the PDA 100 may beconfigured to receive or obtain (for example using a receiver which maycomprise an antenna) status information relating to the status of otherelectronic devices, such as other PDAs which may or may not be of thesame type as PDA 100. The PDA 100 may be further configured to then usethe received/obtained status information, for example in the process ofselecting which specific contacts should be displayed when the user ofthe PDA 100 selects the specific contacts option, as explained below.

In order to make status information from the PDA 100 available to otherdevices, the PDA 100 may be configured to send XML data as one or moreRSS feeds to a server. The XML packets would typically contain thestatus information regarding the PDA 100. This status information couldthen be stored on a server. In order to access the status information ofthe PDA 100, other devices (such as other PDAs) may be configured toaccess the server and thereby access the status information regardingthe PDA 100. The information could then be provided to one or more ofthe other devices from the server in the form of XML data, for exampleusing an RSS feed. Similarly, the PDA 100 may be configured to access aserver on which status information regarding other electronic devices(such as other PDAs 100) is stored using, for example, the methodoutlined above. In this way, the PDA 100 may be able to access statusinformation regarding other devices (for example other PDAs 100).

In such an embodiment, each electronic device (for example PDA 100) thatis connected to the server may have its own Uniform Resource Identifier(URI) on the server. This would enable an RSS feed (which may, forexample, include location information about the electronic device) to beperiodically retrieved from and/or sent to the server for an electronicdevice with a particular URI.

The server configured to receive the RSS feeds containing the statusinformation about the PDA 100 may have a predetermined list of possiblestatuses for the PDA 100. In that case, the PDA 100 would then provideinformation to the server (for example via an RSS feed) stating which ofthe predetermined statuses it is currently in. Similarly, other devices(such as other PDAs 100) may be configured to provide information to theserver regarding which predetermined state they are in.

The status of each of the devices whose status is logged on the servermay be accessed at least by other devices, such as PDAs, whose statusesare logged on the server. As will be appreciated from the explanationregarding possible statuses below, it may be possible for one device(such as PDA 100) to have zero, one, or more than one status logged onthe server at any given time.

Although an explanation has been provided above that relates to devicesaccessing each others' status information using XML packets on RSSfeeds, it will be appreciated that any other method, technique and/orapparatus could be provided for allowing the PDA 100 to access statusinformation of other devices, and for providing status information aboutitself to other devices.

Examples of status information that could be provided or accessed by thePDA 100 include information about what the PDA 100 is currently beingused for; information about the location of the PDA 100; and powerstatus information. For example, the status information could be whetherthe PDA 100 is being used to view videos (or particular types ofvideos); for listening to music (or a particular type of music); to viewimages (such as photos); to surf the internet; to send e-mails; to playgames; or to make phone calls. The status information may additionallyor alternatively relate to the location of the PDA 100. In this regard,as well as giving the geographical location (in terms of, for example,coordinates and/or longitude/latitude), the status information couldalso relate to whether the PDA 100 is at a predefined location specifiedby the user of the PDA 100, such as at home, or at work. The PDA 100 maydetermine its position using GPS, or any other suitable triangulationmethod. Furthermore, the status information may relate to whether thePDA is turned on; is currently active; or is in a sleep or hibernationmode.

It will be appreciated from the above examples of status informationthat the PDA 100 could be in, and provide information to other devicesabout, more than one status condition at any given time. For example,the PDA 100 could provide status information indicating that it isactive; being used to listen to music; and is located at its homelocation at the same time.

The PDA 100 may be configured to recognise its own status (so as to beable to then provide this status information to other devices) in anysuitable manner. In an embodiment, software maybe provided to determineits status. For example, the PDA 100 may be configured to recognise thatit is being used to listen to music when it is being used to accessand/or output a music file. Alternatively or additionally, statusinformation may be determined by the PDA 100 using hardware. Forexample, the PDA 100 may be configured to recognise that it is beingused to listen to music when headphones are plugged into the headphonesocket 200 shown in FIG. 2.

The PDA 100 may be configured to access information about the status ofother devices (such as other PDAs 100 of a similar or the same type) atany suitable time. For example, the PDA 100 may be configured to obtainstatus information about other devices automatically at a predeterminedtime interval, such as once per day. Alternatively or additionally, thePDA 100 could be configured to obtain the status information about otherdevices (for example by accessing the server described above) when theuser of the PDA 100 performs a specific function. For example, the PDA100 could be configured to access status information regarding otherdevices when the PDA 100 is turned on or when the user selects a certainfunction or mode (such as entering the specific contacts screen).Alternatively or additionally, the PDA 100 may be configured such thatthe user of the PDA 100 can instruct information regarding other devicesto be accessed on demand.

The status information regarding other devices may be used by the PDA100 in various different ways and for various different reasons. Oneexample of the use of the status information is in determining which ofthe contacts of the user of the PDA 100 should be displayed at any onetime as specific contacts, i.e. which of the user's contacts should bedisplayed and/or accessible when the specific contacts screen isaccessed by the user.

The specific contacts displayed by the specific contacts screen of thePDA 100 can thus be determined on the basis of the status of the PDA 100itself and/or the status of devices belonging to contacts of the user ofthe PDA 100 at any given time. For example, the PDA 100 could beconfigured such that different contacts are displayed depending on itslocation (as determined through, for example, GPS). For example, whenthe PDA 100 is at its user's work location, a specific, predetermined,list of work contacts could be displayed as the specific contacts. Thesecontacts could be, for example, contacts who work with the user of thePDA 100, or who often need to be contacted for work reasons.

Alternatively or additionally, the PDA 100 may be configured to activelyselect the specific contacts on the basis of its own status. Forexample, the PDA 100 may be configured such that, when it is at a worklocation, it searches each of the contacts in the address book of theuser of the PDA 100 and accesses information relating to the status ofthose contacts (using, for example, the technique and apparatusdescribed above) in order to determine if those contacts are also atwork. Those contacts whose device status indicates that they are at workmay then be displayed as the specific contacts in the PDA 100. In theexample screen shown in FIG. 1, it may be that all of the contactsrepresented by avatars 201-205 are at work, and so is the user of thePDA 100.

Thus, the PDA 100 may be configured to display a pre-determined list ofspecific contacts and/or an active list (i.e. determined by the PDA 100using the status information that it has obtained about other devices)as specific contacts. Whether an active list or a predetermined list isdisplayed may depend on, for example, user preference.

By way of further example, if the PDA 100 is being used to listen tomusic, then the specific contacts of the PDA 100 could be selectedappropriately. For example, the PDA 100 may be configured such that whenit is being used to listen to music, a predetermined list of specificcontacts (for example those contacts who particularly like music, orparticularly like the genre of music being output by the PDA 100) couldbe displayed as the specific contacts. Alternatively or additionally, ifthe PDA 100 is being used to listen to music, then the PDA 100 may beconfigured to use status information that it has obtained about otherdevices in order to generate an active list of specific contacts. Forexample, the list of specific contacts may contain those contacts whoare currently listening to music, or currently listening to music of aspecific genre.

By way of a still further example, the PDA 100 may be configured suchthat when the map contacts mode is selected (for example by tilting orrotating the PDA 100), a map showing the location of a predeterminednumber of the geographically closest contacts is displayed, for example,a map showing the closest two, five, ten or 20 contacts may bedisplayed.

The specific contacts may be related to, for example, an internet searchthat the user of a PDA 100 is performing. For example, if the user ofthe PDA 100 is searching for a particular service (such as a restaurant,or a particular type of shop), then the specific contacts list couldinclude those contacts who have posted a review of that particularservice, for example on the internet.

By way of still further example, the specific contacts could be relatedto groups with which the user of the PDA is registered. For example, ifthe user of the PDA 100 is registered with a photography club, then ifthe PDA 100 is used to take a photograph, the specific contacts could beusers of electronic devices who are also members of a photography club.This would make sending the photograph to the other members of the clubeasier, if so desired.

The steps of receiving status information from other electronic devices,comparing the status information of the other electronic devices withthe status of the PDA 100, and determining the list of specific contactsbased on the comparison may be performed using a processor containedwithin the PDA 100.

The specific contacts displayed by the specific contacts screen of thePDA 100 may be updated over time. For example, as the user continues tolisten to music, other users may begin to listen to music, and someusers who were originally listening to music may stop listening tomusic. This changing status of the various contacts could be updated bychanging the list of specific contacts over time. Alternatively, the PDA100 may be configured such that the list of specific contacts that isgenerated each time the status of the PDA 100 changes is then fixeduntil the status of the PDA 100 next changes.

Thus, the specific contacts list provides the user of the PDA 100 witheasy access to a list of those contacts with whom they would most likelywant to contact at any given time.

1. A handheld electronic device for use in a network to which otherelectronic devices, with respective users, are connected and forperforming at least one function, the handheld electronic devicecomprising: a screen configured to display information to a user of thehandheld electronic device; a location determining unit that determinesa current location of the handheld electronic device; a functiondetermining unit that determines at least one function performed by thehandheld electronic device; and a receiving unit configured to receivestatus information relating to the users of the other electronicdevices, the status information comprising information indicatingfunctions performed by and locations of the other electronic devices,wherein the handheld electronic device is configured to be able to:compare a status of the handheld electronic device with the respectivestatus information of the other electronic devices; determine users ofother electronic devices connected to the network who the user of thehandheld electronic device may be interested in contacting based on thestatus information of the respective other electronic devices of theother users matching the status of the handheld electronic device;update the determined users of other electronic devices when there is achange on the status of the user of the handheld electronic device; anddisplay on the screen information relating to the updated determinedusers of the other electronic devices, the information relating to theupdated determined users including a respective user name, a graphicalrepresentation corresponding to the user, and status information so asto indicate the updated determined users as users who the user of thehandheld electronic device may be interest in contacting based on thematching status information.
 2. The handheld electronic device accordingto claim 1, configured to receive said status information relating tothe users of the other electronic devices from a server.
 3. The handheldelectronic device according to claim 2, wherein the handheld electronicdevice is configured to obtain said status information from the serveras XML data forming in an RSS feed.
 4. The handheld electronic deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one function includes atleast one of: displaying videos; displaying photographs; takingphotographs; playing music; sending emails; accessing the internet;playing games; and acting as a telephone.
 5. The handheld electronicdevice according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to theupdated determined users that is displayed on the screen comprises: (i)contact information for the determined users.
 6. The handheld electronicdevice according to claim 1, wherein the status information of therespective other electronic devices also indicates: the power status ofthe electronic device of the determined user; and the status of thehandheld electronic device also indicates the power status of thehandheld electronic device.
 7. The handheld electronic device accordingto claim 1, further comprising hardware configured to determine thestatus of the handheld electronic device.
 8. The handheld electronicdevice according to claim 1, further comprising software configured todetermine the status of the handheld electronic device.
 9. The handheldelectronic device according to claim 1, further comprising atransmitting unit configured to transmit status information about thehandheld electronic device.
 10. The handheld electronic device accordingto claim 9, configured to transmit status information about itself to aserver.
 11. The handheld electronic device according to claim 9,configured to transmit status information about itself as XML dataforming an RSS feed.
 12. The handheld electronic device according toclaim 1, further configured to re-determine the users of otherelectronic devices who the user of the handheld electronic device may beinterested in contacting when the status of the handheld electronicdevice changes.
 13. The handheld electronic device according to claim 1,further configured to be able to display the location of the determinedusers on a map.
 14. A method of determining specific contacts fordisplay on the screen of a handheld electronic device comprising:determining a current location of the handheld electronic device;determining at least one function performed by the handheld electronicdevice; receiving status information relating to users of otherelectronic devices, the status information comprising informationindicating functions performed by and locations of the other electronicdevices; comparing the respective status information of the otherelectronic devices with a status of the handheld electronic device;determining users of other electronic devices who a user of the handheldelectronic device may be interested in contacting based on the statusinformation of the respective other electronic devices of the otherusers matching the status of the handheld electronic device; updatingthe determined users of other electronic devices when there is a changeon the status of the user of the handheld electronic device; anddisplaying the updated determined users of other electronic devices withtheir respective user name, graphical representation corresponding tothe user, and status information so as to indicate the updateddetermined users as users who it is determined that the user of thehandheld electronic device may be interested in contacting based on thematching status information.
 15. The method of determining specificcontacts for display on the screen of a handheld electronic deviceaccording to claim 14, wherein the method steps are performed by thehandheld electronic device.
 16. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium including computer program instructions, which when executed byan electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform a processcomprising: determining a current location of the electronic device;determining at least one function performed by the electronic device;receiving status information relating to users of other electronicdevices, the status information comprising information indicatingfunctions performed by and locations of the other electronic devices;comparing the respective status information of the other electronicdevices with a status of the electronic device; determining users ofother electronic devices who a user of the electronic device may beinterested in contacting based on the status information of therespective other electronic devices of the other users matching thestatus of the handheld electronic device; updating the determined usersof other electronic devices when there is a change on the status of theuser of the electronic device; and displaying the updated determinedusers of other electronic devices with their respective user name,graphical representation corresponding to the user, and statusinformation so as to indicate the updated determined users as users whoit is determined that the user of the handheld electronic device may beinterested in contacting based on the matching status information.